The present invention relates to a plastic container for syrup or flavor concentrate suitable for use with a post-mix beverage dispenser. More specifically, the present invention relates to a disposable and recyclable container for syrup or flavor concentrate, said container being connectable to a syrup pump which withdraws the syrup or flavor concentrate from the container and supplies it to a mixing station in the post-mix dispenser.
Post-mix beverage dispensers, such as those used in fast-food restaurants or the like, generally store the syrup in either a stainless steel, pressurized container with a five-gallon capacity, or a bag-in-box type of container. The stainless steel type of container is known as a "Figal", an accepted abbreviation in the beverage dispensing art for a syrup container with a five-gallon capacity fabricated primarily of stainless steel. "Figal" containers are generally described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,186,577 to Tennison. The Figal container is advantageous in that the syrup therein is pressurized at the point of sale, eliminating the need for a pump to withdraw syrup therefrom. However, a "Figal" container has a disadvantage of being very expensive to manufacture, so it must be returned to the factory, sanitized and reused.
In contrast, bag-in-box packages for syrup are disposable and less expensive. However, bag-in-box type packages are not easily recyclable, so an associated waste disposal problem results. A typical bag-in-box type package is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,286,636 to Credle.
Bag-in-box packages of the general type disclosed in the Credle '636 patent are in wide use today in beverage dispensing systems which include air-operated reciprocating pumps coupled between the bag-in-box package and a dispenser nozzle by a quick-disconnect coupling. An example of such a quick-disconnect coupling is also illustrated in the Credle '636 patent.
Accordingly, a need in the art exists for a disposable, inexpensive syrup container for use with a postmix beverage dispenser, which is also recyclable.